Administration set including burette with pivotable air valve

ABSTRACT

An administration set including a burette with an air valve communicating with the burette chamber. The air valve comprises a stationary port extending from a top portion of the burette chamber with a fitting closing the port except for a small passageway defined by a top portion of the fitting. A pivotable closure overlies the port and is pivotally connected therewith. The pivotable closure defines an opening for communication with the small passageway when the closure is pivoted to a predetermined open position. The closure opening and the passageway are segregated when the closure is not in the predetermined open position. A filter member is received within the port and directly underlies the small passageway.

This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 170,399,filed July 21, 1980, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,247, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 938,063, filed Aug. 30, 1978,now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention concerns an administration set of the type used fordispensing parenteral liquid to a patient, and, more particularly, to anadministration set including a burette having a pivotable air valve.

Administration sets including burettes with drip chambers are widelyused for administering parenteral liquids to a patient. The burettestypically include a burette chamber with a primary liquid inlet to thechamber and also an injection site commumicating with the chamber forinjecting medicament into the chamber so that, for example, themedicament may be diluted with the primary liquid.

When the burette is being filled with liquid or medicament is beinginjected into the burette for dilution with the liquid, communication ofthe burette chamber with the air outside the chamber is necessary. Tothis end, in one prior art administration set construction, an air tubecommunicates with the burette chamber, with the air tube having a filterat one end and a clamp between the filter and the burette chamber. Whenit is desired for the burette chamber to be open to air, the clamp isopened.

In another prior art construction, as disclosed in McPhee U.S. Pat. No.3,776,229, a rotatable air valve communicates with the burette chamberfor providing the necessary air vent. However, the rotary air valvedisclosed in this patent has certain disadvantages. For example, becauseof the grooved construction of the system, the rotatable portion of theair valve can be easily pulled off by an operator. Additionally, it hasbeen found that the air valve disclosed in this patent generallyrequires silicone lubricant in order to provide adequate sealingproperties when the valve is closed. This is disadvantageous because thesilicone lubricant may become introduced into the burette. Further, thefilter carried within the air valve may become clogged, particularlywhen the unit is shaken by the operator, and there is no way to unclogthe filter once it becomes clogged.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide anadministration set having a burette which obviates the requirement foran air tube extending from the burette chamber with a clamp between theair filter and the burette chamber.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an administrationset with a burette having a pivotable air valve of the type that cannotbe easily removed by an operator.

A further object of the present invention is to provide anadministration set having a burette which uses an air valve that doesnot require silicone lubrication.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide anadministration set having an air valve which is structurally arranged toallow an operator to at least partially unclog the filter carried by theair valve, if the filter should become clogged.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent as the description proceeds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, an administration set isprovided of the type including a burette having a burette chamber and amain liquid inlet, an injection site and an air valve communicating withthe chamber, and a drip chamber connected downstream of the burettechamber. The improvement comprises the air valve comprising a stationaryport extending from a top portion of the burette chamber and defining abore therethrough. The port includes a fitting defining an open internalportion with the fitting closing the port except for a passagewaydefined by a top portion of the fitting. The passageway is substantiallysmaller than the open internal portion.

A pivotable closure overlies the port and is pivotally connectedtherewith. The pivotable closure defines an opening for communicationwith the passageway when the closure is pivoted to a predetermined openposition.

Means are provided for segregating the closure opening and thepassageway when the closure is not in its predetermined open position. Afilter member is located transverse the bore and directly underlies thepassageway.

In the illustrative embodiment, the stationary port comprises an openannular member and a separate fitting fastened to the open annularmember. The pivotal connection is between the separate fitting and thepivotable closure and comprises a circular flange and cooperating groovearrangement with the fitting carrying a flange and the closure defininga cooperating groove. The pivotable closure includes an arm extendingtherefrom to provide manual grasping and the closure and stationary porthave a secure pivotal connection preventing an operator from removingthe closure from the port.

In the illustrative embodiment, the segregating means comprise aresilient member movable with a pivoting member of the closure, to closeand seal the passageway when the closure is not in the predeterminedopen position. The resilient member comprises a ball carried by theclosure and spaced from the opening defined by the closure, and thefitting defines an inclined groove for receiving the ball when theclosure is pivoted to its predetermined open position. The inclinedgroove is dimensioned so as to enable the ball to not be undercompression when the closure is in its predetermined open position, andso as to enable the ball to move up the incline when the closure ispivoted to a closed position, to place the ball under compression,sealing the passageway when the closure is in a closed position.

A more detailed explanation of the invention is provided in thefollowing description and claims, and is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of an administration set constructed in accordance withthe principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view, partially broken for clarity, of a burette andassociated drip chamber used in connection with the administration setof FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the burette of FIG. 2, with possible movement ofthe pivotable valve illustrated in phantom lines;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view thereof, taken along the plane of theline 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a greatly enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view of thepivotable air vent in its predetermined open position; and

FIG. 6 is a greatly enlarged, fragmentary view thereof, with thepivotable valve shown in a closed position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, an administration set constructed in accordancewith the principles of the present invention is shown therein. Theadministration set includes a conventional spike 10 for coupling to asource of parenteral liquid, tubing 12 connected to main liquid inlet 14(FIG. 4) of a burette 16, the burette having a drip chamber 18 extendingfrom the bottom thereof and in series with the flow line, a roller clamp20, tubing 22 connected from drip chamber 18 to an injection site 24,roller clamp 26 on tubing 22, and tubing 28 connected from the outlet ofinjection site 24 to a conventional needle adapter 30.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-4, the burette 16 includes a burette chamber 32having a platform 34 at its outlet end supporting a filter 36, andhaving an inlet assembly 38 at its inlet end. Inlet assembly 38 includesmain liquid inlet 14 of conventional construction, an injection site 40of conventional construction, and a novel pivotable air valve 42.

Air valve 42 is shown in detail in FIGS. 4-6. As illustrated therein,the air valve includes an upstanding annular stationary port 44, whichin the illustrative embodiment is formed integrally with the base 46 ofinlet assembly 38. Port 44 carries a central member 48 which defines anaxial bore 50. Port 44 also defines a shoulder 52 which supports airfilter 54. Air filter 54 is preferably circular and dimensioned so as tofit securely in a resting position on shoulder 52.

Within the internal wall 55 of port 54, there is pressure-fitted afitting 56 which defines an open internal portion 58 and closes port 44except for a passageway 60. Passageway 60 is defined by the top portion62 of fitting 56 and the passageway is much smaller than the openinternal portion 58.

The external sidewall 64 of fitting 56 carries an annular flange 66which cooperates with an internal groove 68 of a pivotable closure 70,to form a pivotal connection between pivotable closure 70 and stationaryfitting 56.

Pivotable closure 70 comprises a top wall 72 defining an opening 74 forcommunication with passageway 60 when the closure is pivoted to apredetermined open position, and an annular sidewall 76 which extendsdownwardly and externally or port 44. Sidewall 76 is dimensioned so thatwhen the pivotable closure 70 is snapped onto fitting 56, there is arelatively close fit between the internal surfaces of sidewall 76 andthe external surfaces of fitting 56 and port 44. However, the couplingis such that the pivotable closure 70 can rotate with respect tostationary port 44 and fitting 56.

Pivotable closure 70 also has a raised portion 78 which defines an arc80 for receiving a resilient ball 82. Resilient ball 82 is preferably asilicone rubber sphere which is utilized to seal passageway 60 when theclosure 70 is not in its predetermined open position. Closure 70 alsocarries a radially extending, manually-graspable handle 84 for enablingthe operator to pivot the closure easily.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, fitting 56 defines a groove 86 having anincline 88, which incline leads to the top of passageway 60. Asillustrated in FIG. 5, when the closure 70 is in its predetermined openposition, ball 82 will lie within groove 86 and opening 74 will bealigned with passageway 60. Arc 80 and groove 86 are dimensioned so thatball 83 will not be in a compressed state in its position illustrated inFIG. 5. When arm 84 is turned so that closure 70 is not in itspredetermined open position, ball 82 will be moved to seal passageway 60as illustrated in FIG. 6. In this position, the ball 80 is undercompression to provide an effective seal.

By utilizing the aforementioned construction, a highly effectivepivotable air valve is provided. The pivotable closure is securelypivotally connected to the stationary portion, the use of siliconelubricant to provide adequate sealing properties is unnecessary and iffilter 54 is clogged, a needle can be inserted through opening 74 andpassageway 60 to at least partially unclog the filter, as the filterdirectly underlies passageway 60.

As shown in FIG. 3, a top member 90 is connected to the assembly forlimiting the pivotal movement of closure 70 and a stop member 92 is alsoprovided for limiting the pivotal movement of the closure 70 in theopposite direction.

Although an illustrative embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed, it is to be understood that various modifications andsubstitutions may be made by those skilled in the art without departingfrom the novel spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. In a medical device having a chamber, an airvalve comprising a stationary port extending from a wall of said chamberand defining a bore therethrough, said port including a fitting shapedto define an open internal portion, a top portion of said fitting shapedto define a passageway, said fitting closing said port except for saidpassageway, with said passageway being substantially smaller than theopen internal portion, a filter member located transverse said bore anddirectly underlying said passageway, a pivotable closure overlying theport and being pivotally connected therewith, said pivotable closureshaped to define an opening for communication with said passageway whenthe closure is pivoted to a predetermined open position, and means forsegregating said closure opening from said passageway when said closureis in its closed position, said segregating means comprising a resilientmember movable with the pivoting movement of said closure to close andseal said passageway when the closure is not in said predetermined openposition, said fitting being proportioned to compress the resilientmember while it is closing and sealing said passageway.
 2. The medicaldevice of claim 1 in which a space is provided to permit said resilientmember to expand out of its compressed configuration when the closure ispivoted to the predetermined open position.
 3. The medical device ofclaim 2 in which said resilient member comprises a resilient ballcarried by said closure and spaced from the opening defined by saidclosure.
 4. The medical device of claim 3 in which said fitting andclosure define an inclined groove for conveying said ball when theclosure is pivoted to its predetermined open position to a location tohold the ball in relatively uncompressed position, said inclined groovebeing dimensioned so as to enable the ball to move up the inclinedgroove when the closure is pivoted to a closed position to place theball under compression while sealing said passageway when the closure isin a closed position.
 5. In a medical device having a chamber, an airvalve communicating with said chamber, said air valve comorising astationary port extending from an outer portion of said chamber anddefining a bore therethrough, a fitting carried on said port, saidfitting shaped to define an open internal portion, a top portion of saidfitting shaped to define a passageway, said fitting closing said portexcept for the passageway, with the passageway being substantiallysmaller than the open internal portion, a filter member locatedtransverse said bore and directly underlying said passageway, pivotableclosure overlying the port and pivotally connected therewith, saidpivotable closure shaped to define an opening for communication withsaid passageway when said closure is pivoted to a predetermined openposition, resilient ball means for segregating said closure opening fromsaid passageway when the closure is not in said predetermined openposition, said resilient ball being movable with the pivoting movementof said closure and spaced from the opening defined by said closure, toseal said passageway in one rotating position of the closure and to rollaway from said passageway in another rotating position to permitcommunication between the passageway and the opening, said fitting andclosure defining an inclined groove for conveying said ball when theclosure is pivoted to its predetermined open position to a location tohold the ball in relatively uncompressed position, said inclined groovebeing dimensioned so as to enable the ball to move up the inclinedgroove when the closure is pivoted to a closed position to place theball under compression while sealing said passageway when the closure isin a closed position.
 6. The medical device of claim 5 in which saidball is made of silicone rubber.
 7. The medical device of claim 6 inwhich said closure opening is located to directly overlie saidpassageway when the closure is in its predetermined open position.